disculpate

[ˈdɪskʌɫpeɪt]

/[ˈdɪskʌɫpeɪt]/ verb

"disculpate" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“disculpate” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To free from blame or the imputation of a fault; to exonerate.

Corpus desk

Index EN-disculpate · disculpate · English

disculpate · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "D" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for disculpate
PropertyValue
Headworddisculpate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈdɪskʌɫpeɪt]
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “disculpate” in English

disculpatesits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

disculpate is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed [ˈdɪskʌɫpeɪt]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To free from blame or the imputation of a fault; to exonerate.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for disculpate in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Medieval Latin disculpātus, perfect passive participle of disculpō (“to disculpate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from dis- (“off”, denoting the ending of an action) + culpō (“to blame”), from culpa (“fault”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). D… The correct English form is disculpate, spelled D-I-S-C-U-L-P-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To free from blame or the imputation of a fault; to exonerate.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how disculpate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He […] endeavoured to disculpate the youth, and left no method untried to soften the tyrant's rage.

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin disculpātus, perfect passive participle of disculpō (“to disculpate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from dis- (“off”, denoting the ending of an action) + culpō (“to blame”), from culpa (“fault”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of disculp.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "disculpate"?
"disculpate" is spelled D-I-S-C-U-L-P-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈdɪskʌɫpeɪt].
What does "disculpate" mean?
As a verb, "disculpate" means: To free from blame or the imputation of a fault; to exonerate.
How do you pronounce "disculpate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "disculpate" is [ˈdɪskʌɫpeɪt]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "disculpate"?
Borrowed from Medieval Latin disculpātus, perfect passive participle of disculpō (“to disculpate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from dis- (“off”, denoting the ending of an action) + culpō (“to blame”), from culpa (“fault”) + -ō (verb-forming ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list